This invention relates generally to the art of pediatrics and more particularly to a therapeutic device for children with certain types of walking disorders.
Young victims of cerebral palsy and other disabling diseases may require physical therapy to improve their walking. It has been found that beneficial results are obtained in some instances by constraining the child's feet to remain on opposite sides of a center plane while walking.
Various baby walkers and therapeutic devices are already known. U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,789, for example, discloses an apparatus for the purpose of rehabilitating people of various ages, and for this purpose provides a pair of parallel bars supported by slidable sleeves on the upper ends of vertical posts, so as to accommodate people of different sizes. Other generally pertinent U.S. Pat Nos. include 642,435, 761,514, 839,681, 1,154,543, 1,222,664, and 4,549,732. In none of the prior art of which applicant is aware, however, has it been proposed to provide a center board for separating the feed of the patient. Additionally, prior devices are typically bulky and thus difficult to move or store.